Chapter 48 Chapter 48: Escape Plan

An hour later, Thomas was sitting in front of the Guardians as he had been two weeks earlier.They wouldn't let Teresa in, which made him and Teresa very angry.It seems that besides Newt and Minho, everyone else still doubts her. "Okay, new guy," said Alby, who sat in the middle of the semicircle of chairs next to Newt, looking much better.All but two of the chairs were occupied—a grim reminder that Zat and Gary had been taken by monsters. "Everyone has something to say, don't beat around the bush and talk nonsense." Thomas hadn't fully recovered from the physical pain, but managed to force himself to calm down.He had a lot to say, but he didn't want what he said to sound stupid.

"It's a long story," he opened up. "Time doesn't allow me to describe them all, but I'll tell you the main points. When I was going through a period of physical pain, many images flashed before my eyes—hundreds and thousands of them. Images—like a quick slide show. I can remember quite a few, but not many that I can articulate. Most of the images I've either forgotten or barely remembered." He paused, concentrating for the last time Thoughts, "But what I can remember is enough. The creators are testing us. The maze is never going through, and everything is a test. They want the victors—or the survivors—to come." Complete an important task." His voice gradually weakened, and he didn't know what order to use to say the facts.

"What did you say?" Newt asked. "Let me start at the beginning," Thomas said, rubbing his eyes. "Each of us was chosen at an early age. I don't remember why or how—just a vague sense that the world has changed, happened. I don't know what. The creators stole us, and I think they thought they were absolutely justified in doing so. They picked us because they figured out that in a way we above average intelligence. I'm not sure though, most of it is rough information and doesn't really matter." "As far as my family was concerned, I can't remember anything, and I don't know what happened to them. But for a few years after we were taken away, we studied in special schools. After the creators had enough Before the money to build the maze, our lives were pretty normal. We all had ridiculous nicknames they made up - like Alby for Albert Einstein, Newt for Isaac Newton , and my name, Thomas, is Edison."

Alby looked like he'd been slapped. "Our names... aren't real names?" Thomas shook his head. "In my opinion, we'll probably never know what our real names are." "What are you talking about?" Frypan asked. "You mean we're all freaks or... raised by scientists?" "Yes," Thomas said, hoping his expression didn't show how desperate he was, "they figured we were really smart, so they watched our every move and analyzed us to see who would give up and who would persevere." , who would have survived the test. No doubt there are blade beetles all over the place watching us. Also, some of us...have something implanted in our brains."

"Convincing me of such nonsense is like believing that Frypan's cooking is good for you," murmured Winston, looking weary and nonchalant. "Why would I make this up?" Thomas said, raising his voice, having been stung by the monster on purpose so he could remember everything, "Or, how do you think this is explained? Are we living on another planet? " "You go on," said Alby, "but I don't see why none of us ever think about it. I've been through physical pain too, but all I see is..." He quickly He looked around anxiously, as if he said something he shouldn't have said, "I didn't get anything useful."

"I'll tell you right away why I know more than anyone else," Thomas said, dreading what he was about to say. "Should I go on or stop there?" "Go on," Newt said. Thomas took a deep breath, as if about to start a race. "Well, they wiped our memories—not just our childhood memories, but everything from before we entered the maze. They sent us here in transport boxes—at first in a large group, then in the past One every month for two years." "But what is it for?" Newt asked. "What is it for?" Thomas raised his hand for silence. "I'm almost at the point where, like I just said, they want to test us and see how we respond to what they call an experimental variable and an unsolvable problem. See if we can work together—even It's about building a community. They give us everything, they design one of the most common problems in civilization - the maze. All of this makes us feel that there must be a solution, and while encouraging us to look harder, it also makes us We were even more frustrated because we couldn't find it." He paused to look around to make sure everyone was listening. "All I can say is, there is no solution."

All of a sudden, everyone began to whisper, and voices of doubt were everywhere. Thomas raised his hand again, hoping that everyone could quickly listen to his words. "Got it? Your reactions confirm my point. So far most of you haven't given up. But I guess everyone is different. We can't accept any unsolvable problem - especially something like a maze. Simple problem. So no matter how desperate we are, we continue to find a solution.” Thomas found his voice getting louder and felt his face burn. "For whatever reason, I find it annoying! All of this - the Wailer monster, the moving walls, the cliffs - are all part of a stupid test. We are manipulated like tools. Creators Wants us to keep working on a solution that doesn't even exist. Sending Teresa here for the same purpose, using her to bring about the end - whatever that means - the place will be closed and only Under endless gray skies. They treated us insanely to watch our reactions, to test our resolve, to see if we would kill each other. Ultimately, they sent the survivors off on some important mission."

Frypan stood up. "Does that include killing too? That's a nice little part of their plan?" Thomas felt a twinge of fear that, knowing all this, the Guardians would take all their wrath on him, and it would only get worse. "That's right, Frypan, including killing people. The reason why the monsters will kill us one by one is to prevent us all from dying before the planned end. Survival of the fittest, only the strongest of us will succeed Get out." Frypan kicked off his chair. "Well, you'd better talk about that amazing escape plan now!" "He will," Newt said quietly, "shut up and listen."

Minho barely said a word during the whole process, at this moment, he cleared his throat and said, "I have a vague feeling that I won't like what you're going to say next." "Probably so," Thomas said.He folded his arms and closed his eyes for a moment.The next few minutes are going to be tough. "The creators want to pick out the strongest of us, and that's their plan anyway. And we have to fight for ourselves—" The whole room fell silent for a while, and everyone looked at him, "That password." "Password?" Frypan repeated, his voice reviving a glimmer of hope. "What's the code?"

Thomas looked at him, pausing for a moment to call everyone's attention. "The code is hidden in the walls of the maze that move for some reason. I should know - I was there when the creators designed this."